Sunday, September 20, 2009

Yesterday was the 24th Worldwide Sketchcrawl! We were a little busy, being the day before my son's 7th Birthday party, but we managed a little time enjoying our city! After dropping R and her friend and mom off at the Plaza theater, we drove around a bit and settled on playing at Mill Creek Park. This 6 block-long park along Broadway/Nichols Parkway on the Eastern border of the Country Club Plaza and is home to the JC Nichols Fountain, a most recognizeable landmark. About half-way up the green, we found a pair of conga-players enjoying their rhythms and the mild air. As an amateur hand-drummer, myself, I could appreciate their complexity, stamina and joy in playing. My son enjoyed them, also, playing nearby and dancing for a while. The painted one was done in Photoshop with my new pen tablet, trying out different paintbrushes and blending modes. The text was "painted" on the page, also, using a calligraphy brush. Wonderful evening!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

This morning, after putting the kidlets on their bus, I went to the new drive-up coffee shop (there's in/outdoor seating, too) to wait for Blockbuster to open. Coffee and a rich blueberry muffin and some sketching and I was happy! And the pampas grass isn't too awful!

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Usually, in our neck of the country, Labor Day is a bit warm and sultry. What a perfect day it was, 80ish, comfortable, slight breezes, foggy morning to start…perfect! (Did I mention, perfect?)

The kids & I rode up to Smithville with Grandpa to use the car, but Ron wasn’t ready for us to fetch him, yet. So, we headed up to the lake for some sketching and play!

We went to the Jerry Litton Visitor’s Center and I settled in at a picnic table to sketch while the kids played with the frisbee and ball they had gotten inside and looked for bugs & interesting things on the ground. We found lots of “fairy handkerchiefs” and my aging camera caught the occupant of one. Rianna also managed to find a grasshopper that sat still for her and a toad that they both got to hold!

If you can’t see this master of disguise, click the photo to go to Flickr and I’ll give you a hint!

Some other critters we found…

Next, we headed back into Smithville and played at Rotary Park. I let the kids climb on the caboose…then saw the words painted on the caboose. “Do not climb or play on caboose.” Oops! So we went to the playground. Playing, being hard work, pleas for food soon followed.

Next stop, town square. Fritos and bananas and playing on the stage were good. Fortunately, it was too early for any of the antique shops to be open!

By then, Ron was ready to be rescued from his laptop, so we fetched him and headed over to Weston.

Weston Bend State Park, scene of many adventures in our family, including the dramatic 3 hour wait for my sister to come up from the city to fetch us when the Weltemobile-at-the-time broke near the beaver pond, set in lush Platte County, was our destination. For some reason, the playground there has particular appeal to the kids…don’t know why, it’s a typical modern playground. So, we did that for a while. Geordan brought me a Cottonwood leaf to draw. Cranky kids forced a scene change, so we went to explore the tobacco barn.

Tobacco is still grown in northern Missouri and sold in Weston every year. Not for the cigarette companies, though, I think for pipe tobacco. There were a few plants growing next to the barn and the door is open to see the framework inside for hanging the stakes the plants are dried (cured) on. Someone was busily eating the 4-foot plants and I managed to photograph some eggs under a leaf.

After a tour ‘round the campground to pick a likely spot for a future trip, we headed back to town.

Friday, September 04, 2009

I broke down and bought a Watercolor Moleskine - pocket-sized. I was frustrated that I don't have room to tear down full sheets of watercolor paper to make a new sketchbook and missed drawing! So...

Here's where I get my news, KCUR, the local NPR affiliate. I can't stand to watch local news on TV and newsprint makes my hands feel awful. It's not complete local coverage, but it's pretty good! Love Walt Bodine!